Preparing to Test a Hypothesis
by gawilliams
Summary: Bones' reaction to meeting Booth for the first time.


_I know that this basic idea of the first time that Booth and Bones met has been done, but I haven't really seen one done focusing on Bones' reaction, or really how she decides to deal with her forced association. I apologize up front if this seems similar to anyone's efforts, though I haven't seen any that have this emphasis. Hope you all enjoy this one._

_Disclaimer: I don't own, or profit from, these characters or franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

_Bones?! Bones?!_ Dr. Temperance Brennan couldn't believe the audacity of the smug, cocky FBI agent she'd been introduced to that afternoon. He's called her Bones! Even after she'd asked him to please call her Dr. Brennan. The nerve!

Dr. Temperance Brennan had just come home to her modestly, but well furnished apartment and thrown her keys onto the counter. She felt like she could just scream. Goodman had come to her that afternoon and informed her that she was being assigned to work with the FBI from time to time on cases and that this agent, Seeley Booth, was the official liaison between the FBI and the Jeffersonian Institute. It hadn't been stated as an all the time thing, but it had sounded like it would be fairly regular.

_"Dr. Brennan, I'd like to introduce you to Special Agent Seeley Booth from the FBI," Goodman had said in that annoyingly formal tone he affected._

_Brennan looked up from the recently discovered Revolutionary War skeleton that needed authentication. She'd spent the better part of the morning working on the parameters that she needed to work with on this find, and had detailed Dr. Zack Addy and Dr. Hodgins to begin working on particulates that were found on and with the skeleton._

_"And I'm being introduced why?" she asked. She used the same neutral tone she always used._

_"The FBI has requested the assistance, on occasion, of the services of a Forensic Anthropologist," Goodman explained. "As you are the only such qualified specialist within a reasonable distance, and the Jeffersonian is funded in part by the Government, we have decided to honor the request. Agent Booth will be the liaison between this institution and the FBI for all cases requiring your expertise."_

_Brennan focused her attention on the man in question. She ran her eyes over him in a professional assessment and saw him as a rather impressive specimen of an Alpha Male, which she felt would be verified once she got to know him. As a woman, she couldn't deny the instant attraction. He was perfectly built, with excellent symmetry. His features were perfect. Just the type she would consider having an amorous rendezvous with if not for the fact that they would now be working together._

_"Agent Booth," she said with dispatch. _

_"No need to be so formal, Bones," Booth said with a grin._

_Brennan raised a brow in obvious irritation. "Did you just call me 'Bones' Agent Booth?" she questioned archly._

_"Yeah," he replied. "You work with skeletons and it fits. From what I understand, you're the best at this bone stuff."_

_"I don't like nicknames, Agent Booth," she said in a very icy tone. "I would prefer that we keep this professional. Please call me Dr. Brennan, or Brennan."_

_"Then call me Booth, Seeley Booth," he grinned at her, making use of a famous line, though with his own name in place of the legendary fictional spy._

_"I don't know what that means," Brennan told him honestly. Why couldn't people just speak without all this pop culture involved?_

_Booth had looked at her incredulously. "Seriously?" he asked to anyone who wanted to join in. He saw everyone nod in unison and one brave soul said 'You have no idea' under her breath. He perked up, though. "Well I'll just have to explain it when we have lunch tomorrow to go over a sort of training session for me," he told her with that cocky grin of his. He turned and started to walk away. "Later Bones," he called out with a backward wave._

_Brennan tried to turn and really ream Goldman, but the Director had already made his way cautiously from the lab area. "Coward," Brennan muttered harshly. She could feel a real headache coming on. She looked around. "Well? We have work to do people!" she exclaimed as she picked up the right tibia of the skeleton and began a close examination. The group scattered and went about their business, though there was a definite frost in the air from that point on._

Dr. Brennan took a sip of the wine she had poured herself and sat down on the couch next to the wall of books next to it. Her anger had not really subsided the entire day after Agent Booth had left the lab. As a result, the rest of her assistants had not got a lot of work done on the authentication, though Angela had done a really good artists rendering of what the man had probably looked like.

Instead of letting her anger fester and expand, she decided to examine the facts.

Fact One: She had no choice but to work with the FBI and this 'Special Agent'.

Fact Two: Special Agent Booth was an arrogant, conceited, and condescending example of an Alpha Male.

Fact Three: Special Agent Booth apparently had no intention of honoring her request to refer to her in a professional manner, thus demonstrating he had little regard for the professional world he now found himself in.

Fact Four: For some reason she found herself strangely attracted to this man. His physical attributes were clearly excellent, bordering on perfect in her mind. His hands showed someone who was not afraid to work hard, but also a shocking pliancy that demonstrated the ability to do fine and delicate work.

Fact Five: By all outward signs her staff seemed to like this man.

Facts four and five troubled her the most. Not one for monogamy, Brennan tended to have sexual partners for a short time and then move on, though she was not what one would call a nymphomaniac. She went out on 'dates' when she felt the urge for a release, and an escape from the tedium that working in a lab entailed. Agent Booth was someone she could easily see herself fall for in the physical sense, and that could spell trouble. He seemed to sure of himself to simply be one of her short term lovers. With respect to her staff, she respected them and their opinions. If they liked him, even without any real interaction and after only one introduction, then he had to have some good qualities besides the obvious physical attributes. She would have to reserve final judgment on him then until she had actually worked with him.

A smile finally lit her face. Tomorrow at lunch would be a good time to draw him out some and determine just how difficult it would be to engage him in some verbal sparring. Just how much could he take when it was being handed to him like he had been attacking her that day? Yes, the battle lines would be drawn the next day and then it would be a war to see who was able to survive. Perfect. A detailed and controlled experiment to test the anthropological understandings of the Alpha Male and how much the Alpha Male could withstand in the modern age.

Brennan took a final sip of her wine before heading off to bed. She was feeling much better now that she had put her new duties in the context of a scientific study. Since that was her area of expertise, she would no doubt be the stronger individual. Falling asleep, she was looking forward to lunch the next day with a certain FBI Special Agent. She had her hypothesis, now she was prepared to test it. Booth wouldn't know what hit him.

_There it is. I hope you all enjoyed this one and I look forward to your reviews. I am diligently working on a third chapter for _Why You Should Listen To Bones_ and hope to have it posted in a few days. It will change the story rating to M for those who wish to be forewarned._


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